TheReturnHomestead

Marti is in the kitchen and looking to make a desert that has no added sugar. This simple chocolate mousse can be made in about 10 minutes. The same mousse can be made with any flavoring we care to add. Simple quick desert.

Today, we set penny tiles on the shower floor. The tile is filler for the grout, which forms the watertight seal for the floor. Using a polymerized thin set, we applied the sheets of mosaic to the floor. To add some excitement we mix in a contrasting penny tile.

We need our shower to hold water and AquaDefense is one of the products that help ensure it does. This elastomeric compound applies similar to a paint product. As it dries it forms a solid layer of rubberized plastic across the surface. Water may make it through cracks in the tiles or grout and the AquaDefense prevents that water from soaking into the subfloor.

In this video, we give you a peek behind the scenes as we do some of the more mundane chores around the homestead. These seasonal chores will improve systems all over the property. This year, we are focused on managing water, perinial plants (add more), and property. Water pours out of the rocks on The Return Homestead. Allowing these small springs to flow freely while not flooding other areas of the property is a constant effort. Perennial plants come back every year and are our preferred type of gardening, especially for food crops. Sunshine needs a sun yard, the blackberries need more rows, and the chickens need a safe place to roam. This spring all these concerns spawned several must-do-now chores, so let's go get them done.

Today we spent some more time at the lake with a chainsaw. Last time, we were getting firewood, but today, we are sculpting the land around the lake. The dam still needs trees removed, and the view is completely blocked by a wall of honeysuckle. A small tractor with a bush hog would be the best solution, but a chainsaw will get it done too.

Today the plumbing is simple. We have to get the water from the poorly installed supply lines up to the mixing valve and on up to the shower head. This is my first time installing CPVC lines. While I had planned to transition the shower over to PEX, but could not acquire the tools and pipe. There is plenty of PEX-B offerings but the big box stores are acting like PEX-A no longer exists. So for supply logistics and price the CPVC became a better choice.

Today we are plumbing two sinks for one drain. You may want to install two sinks instead of one when retrofitting a bathroom. The vanity manufacturer you purchased assumes you have all the expected drains, so they built the unit to accommodate proper plumbing. But one drain is more than enough to remove all of the water from both sinks. Modifying the vanity and the plumbing is on you. And yes you can do it!

Today, we installed the shower drain by using thin set to attach a bonding flange to the hole in the floor. Though it may seem difficult to align the drain with a hole in the floor, everything is perfectly centered by the pre-sloped pan. So the hole in the floor is just that, a hole. Attaching the flange makes it a drain, and any body can do this.

Today, Marti is back in the kitchen to work on stretching the shelf life of our eggs while preparing a perfect snack/lunch food. Eggs are not only delicious hard-boiled, but they can also be pickled. A simple brine will protect the eggs from oxidation and decay and impart an exciting flavor. Every spring, our chickens kick into gear with their egg laying, and pickled eggs are an excellent option for increasing shelf life and the number of eggs we eat in a day.

We only have about an hour to work on the shower today, so we will do the final prep before installing the pan. We always miss critical drywall backing concerns during framing; the shower is no exception. Cutting the drain hole in the center of the floor is easy after you find the center. Then, a final dry fit of the components moves us into the "ready to spread mud" phase of the project.

Today, we are moving forward on the shower build-out by framing a pony wall and a seat inside the shower. We chose the location for the shower based on the location of the previous shower drain. Once we chose the location we framed out a space that was as large as possible. That left us with an unusually sized shower. Then, we chose a pre-sloped foam pan with a maximum size of 48x48 inches. Using a pony wall on the home's exterior wall and a seat along the back of the shower, we limit the actual shower floor to a perfectly square 48x48.

In this video, we do the setup work to install a 48x48 Hydroban Laticrete presloped shower pan. This pre-sloped foam shower pan is the fastest way to build a proper shower floor with perfect drainage. All showers need a floor sloped correctly from the walls down to the drain. Getting that slope right is the hardest part of installing a new shower; get it wrong, and the shower will fall apart quickly. But with this pan, you can't get it wrong. We estimate this product choice saved us about 7 days' work.

Today we finally get to finish our repairs to the frost free hydrant behind the barn. The original hydrant had a faulty valve that allowed water to slowly fill the standpipe instead of having it drain out when the valve was closed. That lead to the pipe being full of water when the temperature dropped into the single digits. The thin-walled metal that these standpipes splits if the water inside freezes, and there is nowhere for the pressure to be relieved. We could not remove and repair the valve, and the standpipe was split, so we decided to replace the entire hydrant instead of attempting repairs.

Today, Marti is in the kitchen making some delicious healthy treats that are on our diet. In August, we changed our diet to remove all carbohydrates on a Carnivore diet. We have lost weight, doubled our energy, and learned to get through a day without any sugar. We are reprogramming our food expectations to improve our self-sufficiency. That means shifting our diet away from processed food toward what we can reliably produce off of our land through our labor. While we work on adding more fruit, honey, tree syrups, and other natural sweeteners, we are experimenting with other nonsugar sweeteners. These treats have no sugar in the recipe and contribute positively to our current dietary fulfillment by adding extra fat. ______________________________ Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fat Bombs - ketofocus.com 12 Servings - 4.6 grams of carbohydrates 3/4 cup almond flour 2 oz cream cheese (softened) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup NO SUGAR ADDED chocolate chips 1/4 cup butter (softened) 1/4 cup Monk Fruit 1/8 teaspoon salt In a medium bowl, cream the flour, butter, cream cheese, sweetener, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the chips. Scoop, drop, chill.

The first super cold winter weather froze our frost-free hydrant, and I will fix it myself. The valve in at the bottom of the stand pipe has been leaking since we moved in 2 years ago. I added a "Y" to the faucet this summer to attach two hoses. The "Y" has separate shut-off valves, stopping water leaking through the valve. During the last two winters, the leaking water would make long icicles, but the hydrant would be fine after it thawed. With the "Y" in place stopping the water from coming out of the standpipe, it could freeze completely, rupturing it. Repair or replace: I will fix this myself rather than pay a plumber. I chose to dig in the cold, rain, and mud over multiple days if necessary. Though other people would not do this work, I am willing. This is how I invest daily in the value of our homestead.

Homesteading means being willing to adjust modern food preparation methods to find substitutes. Global unrest is altering our supply chains and substitutions go a long way to helping keep spirits up while we work toward recovery. Pancakes are an ancient way to incorporate other food products into your breakfast besides eggs. Eliminating all carbs from pancakes is impossible, but we can significantly reduce the carbs by choosing flour other than wheat. Marti is working with coconut and almond flour in today's recipes. With pancakes, the carbs are mainly from the sugar in the syrup. Reducing the amount of sugar means making your own syrup. Choose your favorite fruit for the syrup and follow Marti's lead to create your own. _______________________ wholesomeyum.com 1 c. almond flour 1t. baking powder 5 eggs 1/3 c. milk of your choice 1/4 c. avocado oil or other neutral oil 1 1/2 t. vanilla 1/4 t. salt Mix all together and drop onto an oiled pan. Cover with a lid while cooking. Makes 12, 3-inch diameter. One serving is 2 pancakes. 3 Net carbs per serving (plus syrup)

Today, Marti, is in the kitchen preparing a perfect snow day meal, Chili. We are reworking our menu to be high in protein and fat but allowing our grown food to be introduced one plant at a time. This elimination diet has allowed us to identify several of our favorite vegetables that encourage inflammation for one of us. So far, we have enough approved vegetables to make Chili. Chili needs bread! We prefer homemade sourdough but we are many months from reintroducing wheat. So, Marti is trying a bread substitute called Cloud Bread to see if it pairs well with a chili.

In today's video, we tackle the job of setting vinyl tiles around the plumbing in the bathroom. We like the look of these SmartCore tiles, which are wide and short instead of the regular thin and long planks. These tiles are twice as thick as standard luxury vinyl. Looks like marble but with a coefficient of friction closer to smooth wood, so it's great for wet areas like the bathroom. This product has been discontinued, so we saved about $2/sqft on the bathroom floor. During the installation, we use every tool in the floor setting kit and custom fabricate spacer blocks to assist with the installation.

With the new year come resolutions to refrain from eating so many deserts, but this low-carb, no-sugar, fudge is on the diet. Fudge is mostly about sharp contrasts in flavor between bitter and sweet, supported on a creamy base with a smooth tongue feel that lingers on the pallet. While sweet is an important part of the recipe, we do not add any sugar to the mix. Other natural products such as sugar alcohols (be careful some brands are mostly sugar), and allulose which is like sugar but is not processed by the body like sugar. This fudge has little to no impact on your blood sugar unlike its name sake.

The Return Homestead used January 1, New Year's Day, to work on homestead chores while planning homestead projects. This next year promises to be full of homestead improvements. This will be our third year on the property, and the changes accomplished in the first two years convince us to be optimistic about 2024. Over the next year, our focus will be on food and water. We plan to adjust our gardening mix to accommodate what we have learned this last year about nutrition and our own dietary needs. Water is all about conservation to ensure we fully utilize every drop of water and use rainwater to provide for the animals. Join us for a day of chores around the homestead as we discuss our project plans for the coming year.

Making Pecan Pie, arguably the world's sweetest pie, without sugar is not so hard. As the new year begins, add this recipe to your resolution. The resulting pie is delightful. Americans have gotten lazy with our use of sugar to sweeten EVERYTHING. There are other ways to make a quality desert. If you struggle with finding diabetic-friendly deserts, give this a try.Making Pecan Pie, arguably the world's sweetest pie, without sugar is not so hard. As the new year begins, add this recipe to your resolution. The resulting pie is delightful. Americans have gotten lazy with our use of sugar to sweeten EVERYTHING. There are other ways to make a quality desert. If you struggle with finding diabetic-friendly deserts, give this a try.

Building your own headboard is the fastest and best option in 2023. Visiting any furniture store to purchase a headboard will leave you confused and impatient when you find out how long you must wait. Our solution integrates the bed into the room. Rather than a bed that is set apart in the room, ours becomes an integral part of the room.

When you must have something sweet for dessert, try this recipe. As we approach the new year, many people renew their vows from last year to eat "better" but with little understanding of the "better" diet. As homesteaders, we are intensely focused on producing food that hopefully makes us healthier. They taste like ice cream! These little flavor explosions are intense enough that only two treats are all you need for dessert. Even if you prefer a high carbohydrate eating plan, these are a great treat.

Trees do not always fall the way you intend them to. A tiny piece of loose wood in the notch or an overcut face often creates a Dutchman. This creates a block in the notch that temporarily stops the notch from closing and prevents the bottom of the tree from moving. The top of the tree continues its fall, and the fulcrum of the trunk magnifies the force at the base of the tree until the trunk rips in two, starting at the bottom and shearing up the length of the tree. This catastrophe is called a barber chair, and it can lever the base of the tree straight up in the air 20 feet or more before it comes crashing down. Another dangerous situation to watch for is a tree getting hung up on other trees when it falls. Getting a cut tree to pull loose from the canopy requires careful attention and steady nerves.

Today, we are extracting flavors for use in the kitchen. Enhancing the pantry with a collection of flavor extracts for baking is easy at the grocery store, but what is in those little bottles? Who knows how the flavor in that grocery store bottle was produced. Some flavorings in the store are cheaply produced, meaning artificially flavored. We prefer natural flavorings produced by the foods they represent. Making these natural extracts is easier than running to the grocery store whenever the pantry is short on a flavor. We plan ahead so our pantry always has our favorite flavors in their most natural shelf-stable forms. __________________ Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/